Best Friends From the Start

It was a beautiful and sunny day in Ponyville, the perfect day for Pinkie Pie to spend the morning playing with her new friend Fluttershy, a shy pegasus filly she had befriended a few days ago. The two of them have been having tea parties and playing with Fluttershy's animal friends ever since they met, and Pinkie was so glad to have many a chance to play with her friend and learn more about her.

In just a few days, she had learned so much about Fluttershy that she was even planning a surprise party for her, and all of her animal friends were invited as well. She was going to make sure to include her stuffed animals, many fragrant flowers, a tea party set, and plenty of fruits and sweets, just the way Fluttershy likes it. And butterflies, she can't forget about the butterflies!

Pinkie had already asked her adoptive parents for a dozen vanilla cupcakes for Fluttershy's party, and she managed to gather all the materials needed to throw the party. But there was one last thing she needed: apples.

Pinkie wasn't the biggest fan of apples - she loved cupcakes and cookies and other sweets much more - but they still had a natural sweetness that was good enough for her sweet-seeking tastebuds. She heard from Mrs. Cake of a place where she could get the freshest apples in all of Equestria, and lucky for her it was located right in Ponyville: Sweet Apple Acres.

She was currently on her way to the farm, carrying on her back a saddle bag to carry the apples, and she also carried a small bag of bits in one of the bags to pay for the apples. She wasn't exactly sure how much she needed, so she borrowed thirty bits from Mr. and Mrs. Cake and promised to work off the bits she borrowed - even though her adoptive parents tried to assure her they were more than happy to offer her some bits in return of her helping their shop stay in business the first day she arrived in Ponyville.

Pinkie gasped when she saw a large, bright red barn come into view and broke into a run to reach it quicker, excitement flowing through her body. Not only was she going to be able to buy some apples for Fluttershy's party, but she'd also be able to make new friends here, too!

The pink filly galloped through the entrance and looked around, gaping in awe at the beautiful scene before her. There were apple trees as far as the eye could see, as well as a few fields of carrots, wheat, sugar canes, and other crops. This farm had absolutely every crop known to pony!

She grinned happily and trotted towards the barn, and once she reached it she knocked on it a few times before speaking. "Hello? Anypony home? I wanna buy some apples for a friend's party! Maybe I can invite you, too, if you wanna come! My name's Pinkie Pie by the way!"

Pinkie smiled widely as she waited for a response, but it slowly turned into a frown of confusion as no one opened the door to greet her. Shrugging, she decided to walk around the barn. Behind it, she was amazed to find so many farm animals such as sheep and pigs. But still no ponies.

"I wonder where everypony is..." Pinkie said to herself, tapping a hoof-tip on her chin to think.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. At first, the filly thought it was her imagination, but when she looked down to see a few rocks bouncing, she knew something was going on. She then heard what sounded like many hooves stomping the ground, and it was growing louder and louder as the shaking was intensifying.

Pinkie looked behind her and yelped at what she saw. It was a stampede of cattle. And they were heading right towards her!

"Help! Somepony! There's a stampede on the loose! And they're heading right towards the livestock!" Pinkie shouted, hoping someone would hear her cry of warning. She gulped as the cows grew closer and closer. She crouched on the ground and covered her head with her fluffy pink tail. "A-And me!"

"Yee-haw!"

Pinkie looked up at the sound of the holler, just in time to see a single cow just about to trample over her. She screamed at the top of her lungs, but before the cow could collide with her, an orange blur collided into its side and pushed it away from her, leading it in another direction.

The filly watched as the cattle now followed the leading cow, no longer stampeding towards her. She peered over them to see something yellow and orange running alongside the leading cow.

"What's going on?" Pinkie asked herself. She then gasped when she saw the orange figure leap up on the cow's back with a rope made into a lasso in its mouth. It was an earth pony filly!

The filly spun the lasso in her mouth and wrapped it around the cow's neck before yanking as hard as she could on the rope. The cow bellowed in surprise and began to skid to a stop, as did the rest of the cattle following. Pinkie's jaw dropped in disbelief. A little filly stopped an entire stampede of cattle on her own!

Once the cows skidded to a stop, the filly spat out the rope and leaped off the cow. She then walked over to them all and spoke to them in a southern accent: "Okay, that's enough for today. Thank y'all so much for helpin' me hone my wranglin' skills."

"Anything for you, Applejack," the lead cow replied. She and the rest of the cattle then walked off to their field.

"Wait, it was practice?" Pinkie gasped before grinning and galloping towards the filly.

The filly waited until the last cow passed the gate into their field before closing the gate door. When she turned around, she yelped when she suddenly saw an ecstatic-looking pink filly in her face. "What in tarnation?"

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!" the filly greeted. "I just saw what you did and wow, was that amazing! I can't believe you stopped a herd of cows all on your own! You're amazing!"

"Aw, shucks, Pinkie Pie," the filly blushed, tracing her forehoof against the ground slowly. "Thank ya kindly for the compliment, but it ain't too hard actually."

"Well, I sure wouldn't have been able to do it! What's your name by the way?"

"My name's Applejack. I'm the second youngest Apple in the whole Apple family, the first bein' my little sister Apple Bloom. She was born a few months ago before... well... before my parents..." Applejack's expression suddenly saddened dramatically, and she sniffled a bit.

"O-Oh..." Pinkie muttered, understanding the filly's reason for becoming so sad all of a sudden. "Well, at least you have other family members as you said, right? Do you live here alone?"

"Well, no. I live here with Apple Bloom, my big brother Big Macintosh, and my grandmother Granny Smith. They were all torn up with... what happened to my parents... but we're still pulling through together, and at least we still have each other." Applejack's expression looked a bit more uplifting and she smiled sincerely at the pink filly. "Thanks, Pinkie, for cheerin' me up."

"Anything for a friend!" Pinkie replied.

"Friend? Well, boy howdy, would I like to make a friend outta you, too, Pinkie Pie!"

"Yay!" The pink filly gave a little bounce of joy before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that's right! I made another friend named Fluttershy a few days ago and I was planning a surprise party for her, but I needed to buy some apples!"

"Sure thing! Follow me!" Applejack led Pinkie through the apple orchard to a large apple tree. "Ya better stand back unless you wanna get bopped with apples."

Pinkie nodded and backed away a bit. She watched as her new friend trotted over to the tree's trunk before turning around with her backside to the trunk. She then lifted up her hind legs, balancing on her forelegs, and narrowed her eyes in concentration as she aimed. Finally, she kicked out as hard as she could, shaking the entire tree, and almost all of the apples fell out of the tree into buckets surrounding the trunk.

"Wow!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing up. "You have really powerful hind legs! You shook the entire tree!"

"Well, an Apple's gotta have strong hind legs to buck the apples from the trees," Applejack replied. "Every earth pony has the magical gift of strength needed to attend to the land and grow crops."

"Really? I didn't know that. That's cool!"

"I really hate to ask this of you, but would you mind helpin' me carry these here buckets of apples back to the barn?"

"I'd be more than happy to help!"

The two fillies spent a good hour pulling each bucket back to the barn. Applejack was strong, but not strong enough to carry multiple buckets on her back just yet. She was able to carry one with the help of Pinkie, and within an hour the two placed the last bucket of apples in the barn.

"Whoo-wee! Nothin' like a good hour of haulin' apples to put some muscle on yer bones!" Applejack panted with satisfaction, wiping the sweat off her forehead with a forehoof. She turned to Pinkie, who was panting heavily. "You all right, sugarcube?"

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Pinkie panted. "Just... really tired... and thirsty..."

"I know what to give ya fer all your help." The filly trotted into the kitchen and opened the fridge, then pulled out a wooden cup. She trotted back to Pinkie and handed it to her. "Drink up to yer heart's content!"

The pink filly took the cup into her forehoof and took a little sip. She gasped and began chugging the contents down immediately after.

"I take it you like it," Applejack laughed.

Pinkie finished and licked her lips. "You bet I do! What is it?"

"It's our high-quality one-of-a-kind apple cider," the southern filly replied. "Cider Season's a few days away, so Granny, Big Mac, and I had to make a few batches to make sure the cider's the best it can be. And judgin' by your reaction, our cider's gonna be perfect this year."

"You bet it will!" Pinkie squealed. "I'm gonna make sure to work even harder in Sugarcube Corner so I can get enough bits to buy so much cider! I'll even be first in line for Cider Season!"

"Well, thank ya kindly, Pinkie Pie! Now, I recall you sayin' you needed to buy some apples, right?"

"That's right! I need a dozen apples, please."

"Comin' right up!" Applejack grabbed a small bag of a dozen apples that were freshly harvested just minutes ago and gave it to her. "Here you are."

"Thanks so much! So, how many bits do I owe you?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, sugarcube. They're on the house! Well, barn, really."

"Are you sure? I still think I should pay you. It wouldn't be fair to just take apples you worked your tail off to harvest."

"C'mon, you helped me out today. It's the least I can do. It's okay, honest."

Pinkie smiled, a few tears bordering the corners of her eyes. "Thanks so much, Applejack! You're so wonderful!"

"Th-Thanks, sugarcube," Applejack blushed. "Well, I'd better let you git along. You got a party to plan."

"Actually, I was thinking I could push the party back a few times in time for me to get to know you."

"Come again?"

"Well, I was planning a surprise party for Fluttershy because she was my new friend, but now I've made a new friend: you! I gotta get to know you so that I can throw the same party for the both of you at the same time, and you two can probably befriend each other, too!"

"Well, color me pleased as punch!" Applejack grinned. "You're so mighty kind, Pinkie!"

"No, that's Fluttershy. I just love to do anything for my friends, especially throw parties for them!" Pinkie replied. "Guess that means I'd might as well stick around to get to know you better, too. I'll even help you out with your chores!"

"Golly, you're just too nice! Well, I have to give the pigs a good scrubbin'. You wouldn't mind helpin' out, would ya?"

"Of course not! Let's go!"

The two earth pony fillies trotted side by side out of the barn and towards the back with towels, buckets of soapy warm water, and scrub brushes, ready to bond and get to know each other.

Pinkie Pie just couldn't wait for the party for her two new friends Fluttershy and Applejack!